Nerdcore Boxing

I slept in and skipped doing my cardio this morning. I was pretty down about it, but truth is I’m not a morning person. It’s going to take a while to get into this routine.

Tonight I went to class but didn’t get any sparring, which was probably good because after missing a week and a half or classes I was exhausted.

I’m still working on the best way to do this, but I’m planning on dividing this blog into two. I will feed in my daily training diary, but the main aspect of this blog will be training tips, resources and commentary.

I’m working on a way to display the training dairy as a side blog and offering separate RSS feeds for those with newsreaders.

Hmm, got off to a slow start this week because of the gym being closed. I trained really hard this past weekend, but because of taking off most of last week I’m sore as hell. So today came as a welcomed time to rest my sore muscles.

To catch up on my log, here was my weekend:

Saturday

• 40 mins cardio
• Lifted weights
• 2 rounds jump rope
• 10 rounds heavybag
• 2 rounds shadow boxing

Sunday

• 40 mins cardio
• 10 rounds heavybag

I worked on my recent set of points to improve:  twisting my hips to add range to straight punches,  shifting my weight  in combos and feeling myself push of the ground hard every punch, the Dempsey cage drill, worked on my left hook, countering jabs with my cross and pivots/bumps.

Wow, it’s been the year of upsets in the UFC. Cro Cop gets KO’ed by an unknown, Randy Couture moves up in weight to steal the heavy belt, Serra shocks George St Pierre…

Admittedly I picked Chuck, but in the same breadth I expressed my thoughts on Chucks holes. I’m going to elaborate in these in this post.

I think Chuck is analogous to the Prince Naseem in boxing. Both are very unorthodox fighters that routinely did things that technically you aren’t supposed to do. Both got away with it because of their amazing attributes, both eventually fought fighters with similar attributes and were exploited (against Rampage and Barrera respectively).

In Chuck’s case he’s a natural puncher with a long reach and KO power in both hands. He’s a very accurate puncher that can box moving backwards while maintaining KO power, allowing him to do some wicked counter punching.

But he has holes: his hands are low, elbows are out, hos punches are wide and don’t even get me started on his wide and sloppy overhand right hand. Because Chuck is a counterpuncher and he likes to leave open big holes to draw his opponent in and land his bombs. Chuck has gotten away doing this but he hasn’t fought many good strikers (Rampage isn’t an elite striker, but obviously good enough).

Saturday night Rampage fought really smart, he refused to attack and stole Chuck’s strategy for himself. Then he taunted the famed champ to ensure Chuck went after him.

A Lil’ Boxing Theory
As a general rule of thumb, when combination punching, you should not end on a body punch, end on a high punch. If you do end low, put your hands back up, get out fast and realize you left an opening. Chuck threw an uncommitted right, then left hook to the body and attempted to move out with his hands low, elbows out and chin up. All it took is eating one hook on the way out and Chuck was in La La Land.

Chuck could make mistakes like this against inferior strikers. He could absorb a hook from Ortiz or Couture, but he can’t make a mistake like this against the heavy handed Rampage.

80% of MMA standup is boxing, 80% of MMA fighters are not polished boxers. I believe that really learning the Sweet Science will be the next evolution of MMA.

This Saturday it’s UFC 71 and I’m pumped.

One of the most dominant current MMA belt holders, Chuck Liddell, will be trying to avenge his loss against Quinton Rampage Jackson. Liddell has grown on me and not just because he’s a former accountant with a mohawk. I admit it I used to be a hater, I used to think he was a sloppy boxer who’s weaknesses would be exploited, but he’s tightened up his game over the past few years. He’s a natural puncher with a long reach and heavy hands, he can even knock guys out while backstepping (which he does a lot).

I’m picking Liddell over Rampage.

There are some other fighters that are interesting to watch, former Judo sensation Karo Parisyan, Din Thomas and Kieth Jardine. But overall it’s kind of a weak card by UFC standards.

I went out of town this week on business and subsequently fell off the bandwagon. I planned to work out on the road, I planned to stick to my diet… Instead I didn’t workout Monday-Wednesday, and I ate like a pig. I ate thick crust pizza with meat on it, Doritos and dare I admit, a Cinnabon. I felt so guilty eating that Cinnabon.

So this means one boxing class this week, and the only cardio I’ve done on the weekdays will have been today’s and tomorrows. I cringe at the thought of the Saturday weigh in and I wonder if I will have taken a step back when I spar tomorrow night.

Got in 40 minutes of cardio and did 7 or 8 rounds of bag work. I worked on:

• Rapidly throwing jab-cross-hook combos and shifting weight to each foot so I can push off the ground for the full effect each punch.
• I made circles around the bag then attacked it, working on coordinating hip rotation with weight shifts and pushing off the ground for each jab or jab-cross.
• Did left pivot followed by straight rights, right bumps (skipping pivot) followed by a left uppercut or hook then straight right combo.
• Practiced countering jabs with my cross. This involved catching/throwing jabs then going over the top of my opponents imaginary jab with my cross. I also practiced stepping slightly to the right then in almost one motion throwing the straight right. The latter is a good way to counter a jab while moving yourself to a safe zone.
• Also worked on slips and coming up out of v-slips with straight rights or left hooks as one rapid smooth motion.

Boxer’s Start-Up: A Beginner’s Guide to Boxing (Start-Up Sports series)

I’ve read a number of how to boxing books and by far this is my favorite. Boxing books can be written for many different levels of boxing, some I think are a waste of time if you’re working with a reputable trainer. This book however has the depth and quality of coverage that beginners, intermediate and advanced fighters can benefit from.

Some boxing books you read and only get a few tips to improve your game. A quality boxing book can be read over and over, each time gaining new insight to aid your progress. This is definitely a boxing book that I’ve picked up 5 or 6 times during the course of my training and each time used it to add something new to my game.

Boxing Mastery covers all the topics a boxing book should: stance, punching, defense, training aids, combinations, counter punching, etc. It also covers more advanced techniques such as pivoting, waltzing, feinting, drawing and strategy.

I’ll have to buy Mark Hatmaker’s MMA striking book, No Holds Barred Fighting: Savage Strikes: The Complete Guide to Real World Striking for NHB Competition and Street Defense, and review it in the future.

In closing I really think Boxing Mastery is one of the best books out there to really get to the next level in your understanding of the Sweet Science. Go purchase it on Amazon.

I weighed in at 176 lbs today, 1 pound below last week. I was hoping for 175, but I’m still pleased.

I also got in 40 mins of cardio, lifted weights and did 6-8 rounds of bag work. Bag work involved:

• The 300 punch drill
• The Dempsey cage drill (deep crouch)
• Practiced countering jabs with straight rights
• Worked on the 1-2-3 (jab, cross, left hook), focusing on smoothly and rapidly transitioning from the right to the left hook.
• Focused on rotating hips
• Did a round of pivots/bumps

I’m still being frustrated by one particular style of boxer: guys that box out of the philly shell (lead hand low, slightly sideways stance), fighting off their back foot, swaying back and rolling my punches while counter punching. One of my trainers is very adept at this style.

When sparring against this style, I circle away from the power throwing jabs and following up with straight rights when I can. Because they fight off the rear foot and sway back I have to double and triple up on my jabs to reach him while he sways back. During this jab fest his left hook is often used to counter me so I have to keep my rear hand up and stay upright.

The problem is I make a giant predictable circle around my opponent. This makes me tired and allows my opponent to cut off the ring and lead me into his right hand. I generally do well for 1 and a half rounds, get tired, then get beaten up by this style.

I’m going to spend some time watching film of boxers defeating or doing well against this style. I’ll watch some of James Toney’s (above) more successful opponents, I’ll also watch Chavez/Roger Mayweather and maybe some others.